Selectmen, Planners Meet On Housing

By LAURA M. RECKFORD
Falmouth town officials put their heads together on the vexing issue of affordable housing last night, as they seek to finalize the town’s housing production plan, a document required by the state.
The controversial housing project proposed for Webster Woods at 419 Woods Hole Road was brought up numerous times as board members on different sides of that issue voiced opinions.
Falmouth Selectman Kevin E. Murphy, who has been working on a subcommittee to find an alternative place for housing in Woods Hole, said the goal as instructed by Town Meeting is to try to find a redevelopment opportunity in Woods Hole village with the same number of units as the Webster Woods plan, to avoid cutting into forest to build housing.
But Selectman Carey M. Murphy repeated his frequent refrain that the selectmen missed an opportunity by not giving the go-ahead for the Webster Woods project and, he said, any other housing plans in Woods Hole should be in addition to the Webster Woods plan, which was to build 15 units on about two acres of a 16-acre parcel and reserve another two acres for future development.
Affordable housing committee member Diane C. Thompson, who served as chairman of the 419 Woods Hole subcommittee that developed the plan, said she believed that what the town ends up doing with that parcel is critical to the town’s entire affordable housing strategy and philosophy.
“Personally, in my opinion, it’s sort of key. If selectmen and Town Meeting can’t get their arms around that, I think we’re wasting our time,” she said. “It’s one piece of property, but I think it’s an important precedent.”
Selectman Mary (Pat) Flynn had high praise for the draft housing production plan, but she said she does not agree that the Webster Woods parcel should be developed, citing its value as open space .
She said the town needs to look closely at redevelopment. For example, she said every time she drives by the former Ford car dealership lot on Dillingham Avenue, she thinks it would make a good affordable housing site, particularly since it is on the town sewer.
Planning board member Ralph E. Herbst, who also serves on the community preservation committee, gave numerous comments on the plan and pressed selectmen to state whether they intend to resolve the Webster Woods issue before Fall Town Meeting.
Selectman Brent V.W. Putnam said, in his opinion, if another option for housing in Woods Hole is not on the table by the time the Town Meeting warrant closes, selectmen should put an article on the warrant to develop Webster Woods.
He also said the selectmen should make a policy decision about allocating more community preservation act funds toward affordable housing than for the other mandated uses, open space, historic preservation, and recreation. He pointed out that 50 percent of the CPC funds are already automatically allocated toward open space because the town needs to continue to pay off its debts for land purchased through the Land Bank Act. The remainder of the CPC funds, about $1.2 million annually, comes from a matching grant from the state that is expected to lessen as time goes by.
Planning board member Charles A. Swain said he hoped that in the push to meet the state’s housing goals, the town does not ruin its character. “I don’t want us to forget our history and aesthetics,” he said. “This is not Long Island, or a suburb of Boston.”
Falmouth Town Planner Brian A. Currie and Assistant Town Planner Marlene V. McCollem have drawn up the draft housing plan with the help of the Falmouth Planning Board and the Falmouth Affordable Housing Committee.
The plan lists ways for the town to meet the state-required goal that 10 percent of the town’s housing stock be affordable. Currently, about five percent of the town’s stock is affordable. The alternative is for the town to designate one-half of one percent of its housing stock as affordable housing per year, which adds up to 72 units per year.
One of the elements of the plan required by the state is for the town to list possible town-owned parcels that will be used for affordable housing. The plan lists Webster Woods, 55 Glenwood Avenue, which is next to Town Hall, and the Oddfellows Hall, which is in Town Hall Square. The Glenwood lot had been earmarked as a town hall parking annex, but neighbors objected to that plan. Oddfellows Hall, a 19th-century Greek Revival building with a rich history, had been marked for resale once a historic preservation restriction was put on it. But with the shrinking real estate market, the property has not had any takers.
Selectman Kevin Murphy said the plan should not list any individual town-owned properties since using such land for affordable housing is a policy decision of the board of selectmen.
Mr. Currie said the state requires some properties be listed, so planning board Chairman Patricia H. Kerfoot suggested a line be added that stated that properties may be added or subtracted from the list, as their feasibility is explored.
Falmouth Housing Director Robert H. Murray said producing affordable housing has a lot to do with economics, and he cited figures that affect how his current project to convert the former VFW building on Teaticket Highway into housing can move forward.
Assistant Town Manager Heather B. Harper said looking at models of affordable housing creation that have worked in the past, like Mr. Murray’s three-story building of 55 units that is located near Gus Canty Community Center on East Main Street, is perhaps a better direction to go than relying on models that have taken a large amount of time, but created few units. Others referenced  the project at Ward and Chester streets in North Falmouth, which took seven years but created only two units.
“The nonprofit and private sectors have contributed the majority of affordable housing,” Ms. Harper said, adding, “Fish where the fish are.”
Mr. Currie said the plan is due to the state in November and that he will come back with a revised draft within the next month.